BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:621@live-spitzer-arch.pantheonsite.io DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231102T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231102T190000 DTSTAMP:20230828T142307Z URL:https://live-spitzer-arch.pantheonsite.io/events/fall-2023-sciame-lect ure-series-hajar-alrifai-21-hamees-gabr-22-nadeen-hassan-20-and-benjamin-a khavan-20/ SUMMARY:Fall 2023 Sciame Lecture Series: Hajar Alrifai `21\, Hamees Gabr `2 2\, Nadeen Hassan `20\, and Benjamin Akhavan `20 DESCRIPTION:This lecture will be in person and is part of the Fall 2023 Sci ame Lecture Series\, titled "Crosscurrents: Architecture\, Landscape\, and Spatial Practices in Southwest Asia and North Africa."\n\nHajar Alrifai ' 21 (pictured far left) is a Syrian-American artist and architectural desig ner. She received her B.Arch from the CCNY Spitzer School of Architecture\ , where she co-founded the student organization Future Architects of the M iddle East (F.A.M.E)\, Mashrabiya\, an annual publication\, and served as an S. Jay Levy Fellow. Her work has been published in Antidotes I\, and th e New York Review of Architecture. Currently\, she is a research assistant and SMArchS candidate in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT. Her thesis project draws from folklore\, inherited memory\, and oral poetry to tell new stories about the built environment.\n\nHamees Gabr '2 2 (pictured second from left) graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’ s of Architecture from the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at CCNY. At Spitzer\, she has been a teaching assistant for both visual s tudies and studio courses\, as well as been published in CityWorks. In 201 9\, Hamees co-founded the student organization Future Architects of the Mi ddle East (F.A.M.E). She is pursuing an Urban Design degree at Harvard's G raduate School of Design with the hopes of pursuing a doctorate. Since Gab r was young\, she has wanted to be an architect to promote social change\, reshape boundaries\, and build a better world for the future.\n\nNadeen H assan '20 (pictured third from left) is a Junior Designer at FXCollaborati ve with experience in residential\, commercial\, and hospitality projects. As a New York City native with Egyptian heritage\, Nadeen witnessed the l ack of resources and care for refugees and low-income families\, inspiring her to become an architect. Nadeen has the drive to positively influence and improve the lives of the underserved. Nadeen is an advocate for equity in architectural practice and education. She co-founded Primaverarch—a grassroots movement dedicated to creating spotlights for women in architec ture. Primaverarch's online presence has opened a space for women to celeb rate their talent and hard work as well as discuss the industry-wide issue s that need to be addressed.\n\nBenjamin Akhavan '20 (pictured far right) is a multidisciplinary designer and educator based in New York\, where he leads FOAWM\, a nondescript Firm / Office / Atelier / Workshop / Milieu wi th polyvalent interests at the intersection of design and urban life. He i s the Assistant Director of Academic Affairs and Adjunct Assistant Profess or at Columbia GSAPP and has also taught at The City College of New York\, New York Institute of Technology\, and New Jersey Institute of Technology . His design\, research\, and scholarship have been featured in the Cambri dge University Press Materials Research Society Proceedings\, Citygroup Ga llery\, New York Review of Architecture\, Mashrabiya\, and MIT Thresholds. \n\n"Future Practice: Diaspora Narratives":  links four emerging Middle E astern American practices as they relate to the built environment to proje ct new narratives for architecture. Praxis\, research\, teaching\, academi a\, and publication are disparate mediums of intervention but are presente d as common practices for understanding and advocating for a more inclusiv e built environment. Hajar Alrifai '21\, Hamees Gabr '22\, Nadeen Hassan ' 20\, and Benjamin Akhavan '20 are Middle Eastern American individuals oper ating within the collective agenda of redefining the discipline to incorpo rate multiple identities as they shape the built environment.\n\nSuggested Reading: Benjamin Akhavan\, Hajar Alrifai\, Ahmed Helal\, and Tatiana Voi tovich\, eds. Mashrabiya. Vol. 00. Future Architects of the Middle East\, 2020.\n\n"Crosscurrents: Architecture\, Landscape\, and Spatial Practices in Southwest Asia and North Africa" probes the radical reimagining of the region compelled by the expression Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) . In recent years\, the acronym SWANA has gained currency among architects \, landscape architects\, urbanists\, and historians who conceptualize the territories of the Middle East and North Africa through geography and pla ce rather than colonial frameworks. The term “Middle East” was a Briti sh invention\, a tool used to advance colonialism in a region where so man y national borders resulted from imperialist interventions. In the Fall 20 23 Sciame Lecture Series\, groundbreaking designers\, scholars\, practitio ners\, and activists chart multiple—and sometimes competing—currents i n the architecture of the region and its diasporas\, while displacing esse ntializing colonial narratives. To do so\, speakers from across the area s hed light on global\, transnational\, and diasporic human stories about de sign\, space\, landscape\, and architecture in SWANA\, and advance new ide as about territory\, buildings\, places\, histories\, and belonging.\n\nAl l lectures are free\, open to the public\, and held in the Bernard and Ann e Spitzer School of Architecture Sciame Auditorium.\n\nSee https://www.ccn y.cuny.edu/return-campus for current requirements for in-person visitors.\ n\nThis lecture series is made possible by the Spitzer Architecture Fund a nd the generous support of Frank Sciame ’74\, CEO of Sciame Construction . CATEGORIES:Events,Lectures,Sciame Lectures LOCATION:Sciame Auditorium (Room 107)\, 141 Convent Avenue\, New York\, NY\ , 10031\, United States GEO:40.8177595;-73.95047339999996 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=141 Convent Avenue\, New Yo rk\, NY\, 10031\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Sciame Auditori um (Room 107):geo:40.8177595,-73.95047339999996 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20230312T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR